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James Franklin said something last week that Penn State should find stunning.

It had nothing to do with how quickly he and his new staff have built the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation, or how much the football program has changed just in his few months on the job.

It has everything to do with what Franklin feels he needs to get the football program to an even higher level.

At pretty much every stop along the Penn State Coaches Caravan that has been traveling the mid-Atlantic the last few weeks — including his Scranton-area stop at Fiorelli’s Catering in Peckville — Franklin has been telling anyone who will listen that the university’s football facilities just won’t cut it over the long haul.

In fact, they aren’t cutting it now.

During his stop in King of Prussia, he said what many Penn State fans might consider the unthinkable: That the Nittany Lions facilities, often praised during the Joe Paterno era and early part of the Bill O’Brien regime, fell a cut below what he left at Vanderbilt.

Yes, Vanderbilt. The school, which before Franklin arrived there, had unquestionably the worst facilities in the SEC. And they still probably aren’t on par with the heavy hitters in that conference.

Just a year ago, Penn State posted a video on its website and YouTube, a virtual tour of the Lasch Football building. It called it “the finest facility in the nation,” pointing out $250 million has been kicked into “athletic expansion” since 1999. A facility built to take athletes to the “Next Level,” the old O’Brien-era slogan that Franklin hopes to take exponentially higher.

“I think there has been a little bit of surprise,” Franklin said matter-of-factly. “That said, a lot of people don’t get the access. We’re providing more (access) than maybe people ever have had with Penn State. I don’t think a lot of people have had the chance to see it or, if they have seen it, I don’t think they have anything to compare it to.

“I’ve coached in the ACC. I’ve coached in the Big 12. I’ve coached in the Big Ten. I’ve coached in the Pac-10, the SEC and the NFL. So I think I’ve got a pretty good perspective on what we’re competing against, and what’s out there. ... I want to make sure when kids and families visit us, they will be provided with all the resources the top 15 programs in the country provide.”

A healthy debate could be had about whether Penn State’s facilities are what they need to be to have a national championship-contending program year after year. They seem better than at most of the schools Penn State visits during football season — a source who has seen Vanderbilt’s laughed at Franklin’s assertion that the Commodores have it better. They seem a cut below others, like Ohio State and Alabama though. On that note, Franklin is likely correct, and it’s worth noting that part of the bone of contention between O’Brien and the athletic department that ultimately helped push the former coach toward the Houston Texans is the fact that O’Brien ran into some resistance when he pushed for improvements at the facilities.

It’s also fair to point out, though, that Franklin has now been head coach at two universities, and he began pushing for improved facilities at both almost immediately. His efforts were taken to heart at Vanderbilt, where the school built a $31 million indoor facility.

The list of improvements Franklin wants at Penn State? It includes:

■ Replacement of turf inside Holuba Hall.

■ Replacement of turf at the outside fields.

■ Carpeting.

■ Paint.

■ Branding.

■ New furniture.

■ Better technology.

“It’s everything,” Franklin said. “What I would recommend you guys do is get on the internet and do some research on what does Oregon have? What does USC have? What does Oklahoma State have? Texas A&M? Look around the country and see what people have.

“We’re going to be able to build a very, very successful program that is going to be competitive in this conference, but it’s also going to be competitive nationwide. I think it’s just important for us to be aware of what’s really out there.”

This is about more than what’s out there, though.

This is about the direction big-time college football is heading, and it’s about how supportive Penn State alumni and fans and boosters really want to be of that direction.

This is not a program that has ever had to rely on having the shiniest facilities or being involved in what Franklin called the “arms race” that has overtaken the sport. This is a program that, under Paterno, was always able to recruit the types of student-athletes it needed to compete at a high-enough level to maintain the coach’s vision. This is a program that, under O’Brien, was able to recruit the type of kids who were able to excel beyond expectations.

But under Franklin, the logical next step is to become one of the big boys, and to do so in a way that goes beyond just talk.

Because of the NCAA sanctions and the fines, any significant changes to Penn State’s football facilities would likely have to be funded by donors, which Franklin knows is an immediate referendum on his vision. If the facilities are seen as OK, people won’t donate. If he is as convincing in this venture as he has been in so many others, he’ll get the money he wants. That simple.

Because like it or not, Franklin has thrown it out there. Want national titles in this era? This is how you help secure them.

“It has become a little bit of an arms race in college football, and we want to be a part of that,” Franklin said. “Not only a part of that, but a leader in that, as well.”

On one hand, that seems like the type of direct statement you’d never hear at Penn State.

On the other, who can argue that James Franklin is wrong?

Contact the writer: dcollins@timesshamrock.com

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